New Zealand Unemployment Rate

Last Release

Sep 30, 2024

Actual

4.8

Units In

4.6

Frequency

Quarterly

Next Release

N/A

Time to Release

N/A

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
11.2 Sep 1991	3.2 Dec 2021	5.74 %	1985-2024	Statistics New Zealand

In New Zealand, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.

Latest Updates

New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in the September quarter of 2024, up from 4.6% in the previous period and reaching its highest level since the December quarter of 2020. This figure was below market expectations of 5%. The underutilization rate stood at 11.6% in September, down from 11.8% in June 2024. On an annual basis, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 24.2%, totaling 144,900 (not seasonally adjusted). The seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate for the September quarter was 71.2%, reflecting a decline of 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter and 0.8 percentage points from the previous year.